By Al Nigrin
originally published: 02/19/2024
Still from M. Wild's Witchblossom
We had a very nice 36th Annual United States Super 8 Film + DV Festival over the last two days although the in-person screening on Saturday was cancelled due to a major snowstorm that hit Central Jersey. Luckily folks could still see the program online. Attendance was good and it looks like we will break even financially which is important for us to keep running this Festival. Many thanks to Phil and Rhonda Vigeant as well as Jaclyn Melo of Pro 8mm and Sara Leavitt at Icarus Films/OVID for sponsoring our Festival again and providing the prizes for the Best of Festival winners. Without further ado here are the Award Winners of the 36th Annual Festival:
Still from Phil Docken's you thRill me
Best of the Festival
you thRill me – Phil Docken (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
Witchblossom – M. Wild (Los Angeles, California)
Still from Gregg Chilingirian's George
Honorable Mention
George – Gregg Chilingirian (London, England)
Silent chirping of invisible Digits – Vera Sebert (Austria)
The Rocket Movies – Carl Weingarten (Alameda, California)
Roses, Pink and Blue - Julia Yezbick (Detroit, Michigan)
Kristin dan Kuching Kuchingnya – Michael Kam (Singapore)
Still from Carl Weingarten's The Rocket Movies
The 2024 United States Super 8 Film & Digital Video Festival, which is part of the Spring 2024 The New Jersey Film Festival is funded and/or sponsored in part by the Rutgers Film Co-op/New Jersey Media Arts Center; The Rutgers University Program in Cinema Studies/School of Arts and Sciences; Middlesex County, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts - Funding has been provided by the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners through a grant award from the Middlesex County Cultural and Arts Trust Fund; The Rutgers University Office of Summer and Winter Sessions; OVID/Icarus Films; Pro8mm; The Rutgers University American Studies Department; Rutgers University School of Arts and Sciences Honors Program; The Rutgers University Zimmerli Art Museum; The Rutgers University Writer’s House; The Rutgers University Office of Disability Services, WRSU; New Jersey Stage; The Home News, The Asbury Park Press; New Brunswick City Center; The Rutgers University Office of Community Affairs; Design Ideas; Advanced Printing; Steven C. Schechter, Esq.; Share and Harris.
Information:
Al Nigrin
Executive Director/Curator
New Jersey Film Festival
Rutgers Film Co-op/New Jersey Media Arts Center
Rutgers University Program in Cinema Studies
4170 Academic Building, 15 Seminary Place
New Brunswick, New Jersey, 08901-8525 U.S.A.
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.njfilmfest.com
About the author:
Albert Gabriel Nigrin is an award-winning experimental media artist whose work has been screened throughout the world. He is also a Cinema Studies Lecturer at Rutgers University, and the Executive Director/Curator of the Rutgers Film Co-op/New Jersey Media Arts Center, Inc.
EVENT PREVIEWS
2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Video Interview with Sonia and Lisa on Mushrooms Director Vincent Turturro
Al Nigrin, Executive Director and Curator of the New Jersey International Film Festival, sits down with Vincent Turturro, director and writer of Sonia and Lisa on Mushrooms, for a filmmaker interview at EBTV. Sonia and Lisa on Mushrooms will be screened on May 29, 2026.
Two amazing shorts Bottom Feeder and Impivaara screen at the 2026 New Jersey International Film Festival on May 29!
We are always being watched, always being seen, always looking. But where are we? Who are we looking at? What are we seeing? Is it all a dream? Who’s dream is it? ‘Bottom feeders’ are the lowest form of species on the pyramid at the bottom of the deep, dark, and unexplored sea. Sometimes, if you pay attention, ‘bottom feeders’ take shape in the lowest form of human beings at the bottom of the deep, dark, and unexplored subconscious. Bottom Feeder is a black and white experimental film, shot on 16mm film in a square 4x3 format. Vito Trabucco is a Los Angeles based filmmaker, is known for his award-winning films Charlie Christ (2024), Britney Lost Her Phone (2023), and Kevin Can Wait (2020). In Bottom Feeders, Trabucco brings you on a dream-like journey with a woman, the aptly named Pageant (an uncommon name historically associated with theatrical spectacles), who by way of nature, explores her own dream and the meanings behind her visions, both in her head and what she sees. A front door, fractured. A home, for whom? A doll, draped in desire. A sunset, alone but for how long? A reflection, a gaze. A location, unknown
2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Middle Life Video Q+A
Here is the 2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Video Q+A with Middle Life Writer/Director Pavan Moondi, Lead Actors Leah Fay Goldstein and Peter Dreimanis, and Festival Director Albert Nigrin.
2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Interview with Sundays Director Ashley Gerst
Al Nigrin, Executive Director and Curator of the New Jersey International Film Festival, sits down at EBTV with Ashley Gerst -- Director and Animator of the film Sundays for a filmmaker interview. Sundays will be screened on Saturday May 30, 2026.
2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Interview with Middle Life Director Pavan Moondi
Here is Festival Director Al Nigrin’s interview with Pavan Moondi. Pavan is the director and writer of the terrific Canadian feature film Middle Life. Middle Life screens with two shorts at the New Jersey International Film Festival on Saturday, May 30, 2026.
Trenton Filmmaker Phillip McConnell to Premiere New Short Film "Tell Me Where We Stand"
(HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, NJ) -- Independent filmmaker Phillip McConnell will premiere his new short film, Tell Me Where We Stand, at Mill One on Sunday, May 31, 2026, bringing together local artists, performers, and members of the community for an evening celebrating independent film and storytelling.
2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Video Interview with What We Dreamed of Then Director Taylor Olson
Al Nigrin, Executive Director and Curator of the New Jersey International Film Festival, interviews What We Dreamed of Then Director, Writer and Actor Taylor Olson. What We Dreamed of Then will be screened on May 31, 2026.
2026 New Jersey International Film Festival to Take Place from May 29th to June 7th
(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- The Rutgers Film Co-op/New Jersey Media Arts Center, in association with the Rutgers University Program in Cinema Studies, presents the 2026 New Jersey International Film Festival which marks their 31st Anniversary. The NJIFF competition will be taking place on the Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays between May 29 - June 7, 2026 and will be a hybrid one as they will be presenting it online as well as doing in-person screenings at Rutgers University.
2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Video Animation Panel
Here is the 2026 New Jersey International Film Festival Video Animation Panel featuring Festival Director Al Nigrin and Filmmakers Owen Andrejco, Myra Sito Velasquez, Evan Bode, and Heidi Kumao.
Emmy-nominated, Tony and Grammy Award-winning actor/director Jason Alexander to Lead Acting Masterclass on Long Beach Island
(LONG BEACH ISLAND, NJ) -- The Lighthouse International Film Festival (LIFF) presents a rare five-day acting masterclass led by acclaimed actor and director Jason Alexander, taking place June 7–11, 2026 on Long Beach Island, New Jersey, just prior to the opening of the Festival's 18th edition, which runs June 10–14.
MORE EVENTS
Click on the listing to bring up its webpage
Sonia and Lisa on Mushrooms, Impivaara, Bottom Feeder & Chemical Meadows – Online for 24 Hours and In-Person at 7PM!Friday, May 29, 2026 @ 7:00pmNJ International Film Festival
New Brunswick, NJ
Shorts Program #1: Godzilla’s Day Off, Paper Crane, 35 Days, I Exist, Pizza Man, Prison and Time, Dustsceawung & Miracle Under 34th Street – Online for 24 Hours and In-Person at 7PM!Saturday, May 30, 2026 @ 7:00pmNJ International Film Festival
New Brunswick, NJ
